Acting President Hwang Kyo-ahn’s decision not to run in the upcoming presidential election appears to be benefiting centrist candidates, rather than his fellow conservatives.

More than a quarter of Hwang’s supporters have switched support to moderate liberals, instead of backing an alternative conservative figure, data showed Thursday.

After Hwang announced Wednesday that he would not seek election, South Chungcheong Province Gov. An Hee-jung of the Democratic Party of Korea and Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo of the People’s Party saw increases in their polling numbers.


According to a survey conducted by Realmeter following the acting president’s announcement, only 32.4 percent of those previously supporting Hwang said they would vote for conservative South Gyeongsang Province Gov. Hong Joon-pyo.

The provincial governor, formerly a four-term lawmaker and member of the conservative party leadership, is currently the leading presidential candidate of the Liberty Korea Party.

But many of Hwang’s supporters -- 14.9 percent and 11.6 percent respectively -- turned to liberal Gov. An and Rep. Ahn, while 8 percent headed to Gyeonggi Province Gov. Nam Kyung-pil of the conservative spinoff Bareun Party and 3.7 percent to Rep. Yoo Seong-min of the same party.

In the last survey before his announcement, Hwang’s approval rating stood at 10.2 percent, according to R&Search.

Though Gov. Hong, whose approval rating jumped to 7.1 percent, seemed to have benefited from Hwang’s retreat, the loss of a substantial portion of the acting president’s support appears to have weakened the standing of the Liberty Korea Party.

“The proponents of acting President Hwang were those with conservative tendencies,” said the party’s interim chief In Myung-jin in a radio interview with KBS on Thursday. “It is only natural that the support of these people should turn toward our party.”


Experts also agreed that the clearly conservative cluster among Hwang’s supporters is likely to favor Gov. Hong over the relatively centrist, reformative figures of the Bareun Party.

“Hong’s consistent identity as a conservative political leader won him the support of those wishing to prolong the current conservative powers,” said Yoon Hee-woong, senior researcher at Opinion Live.

But increasing public attention has been focused on Ahn, who could become the only viable contender against Moon Jae-in in the main presidential race.

“This presidential election will be a one-on-one competition between Ahn Cheol-soo and Moon Jae-in, in which I am confident of winning,” Ahn told reporters.

The entrepreneur-turned-politician had recently stalled in the polls, overshadowed by potential conservative candidates such as former United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Hwang.

But with both Ban and Hwang out of the running, Ahn is increasingly touting himself as an option for centrist-conservative voters.

“The real change will take place after the Democratic Party’s primary,” said an aide to Rep. Ahn, alluding to the idea that anti-Moon voters are likely to turn to Ahn in the absence of a strong conservative candidate.

Moon continued to remain the unrivaled No. 1 player in the presidential race, with 37.1 percent support as of Thursday, according to Realmeter.

Meanwhile, the Democratic Party’s Gov. An received a boost in polls in the conservative strongholds of Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province and from voters aged 60 or older.

An’s key slogan is “grand solidarity,” suggesting he will step beyond factional grouping and embrace political calls from centrist-conservative clusters as well.

But the governor first has to contend with Moon in the party primary slated for early April if he is to compete in the main race.

The earlier-than-planned presidential election to choose the successor to President Park Geun-hye is to take place on May 9.

By Bae Hyun-jung (tellme@heraldcorp.com)